christianity : beliefs and teachings Flashcards
the nature of god
“We believe in one god” - nicene creed
god is the creator of everything
qualities of god
omnipotent, benevolent, just, omnipresent
the problems of evil and suffering
if god is benevolent, why does god allow people to suffer
if god is omnipotent, why does god not prevent evil and suffering
if god is just, why does god allow injustice
the trinity
god is the father, the son and the holy spirit, but god the father is not god the son or the holy spirit.
creation - genesis
“in the beginning, god created the heavens and the earth”
many believe not scientifically accurate but contains some religious truth.
some are literalists
creation - john
“the word was with god and the word was god”
the word refers to the son of god who entered history as jesus
incarnation
“the word became flesh” - bible
“she was found to be pregnant through the holy spirit” -bible
mary was a virgin
jesus
fully god, fully human
his words, deeds and promises have great authority because they are the word of god
christians believe that jesus is the messiah but a spiritual rather than a political one
crucifixion - what happened
jesus suffered greatly - he was both fully god and human
“father, into your hands i commit my spirit” - last words
burial was rushed - sabbath about to begin
was buried in a cave like tomb
crucifixion - importance
- gives hope that sins will be forgiven if they sincerely repent
-god understands human suffering
-suffering is a part of life, just like it was a part of jesus’ life
-teaches forgiveness - “father, forgive them for they know not what they have done”
resurrection - what happened?
early sunday morning, followers went to visit jesus’s cave but he was not there, the news was spread that he was not there, over the next few days jesus appeared to several people and told them he had risen from the dead, as he predicted he would before his crucifixion.
ascension - what happened?
after meeting with his disciples and asking them to carry out his work, jesus left them -
“while he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven.” - bible
impact of belief in the resurrection
-life after death is real
-gives confidence in the face of death
-gives hope of a future life with jesus
-inspires christians to live life in the way god wants them to
-shows christians how much god loves them.
different views on resurrection
-soon after death
-some time in the future
-both spiritual and physical
-just spiritual
the afterlife
they will be resurrected and receive eternal life after they die
this is a gift and is dependent on faith in God
“i believe in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting” - apostles creed
afterlife begins at death or on the day of judgement
judgement
based on how people behave during life
the parable of the sheep and the goats describes how people will be judged - in serving others they are serving jesus so this is how they should live their lives
heaven
eternal happiness and peace in the presence of god, either a physical place or a spiritual state
a reward for both faith and actions
purgatory
an intermediate state where souls are cleansed in order to enter heaven, this is a catholic belief.
hell
the opposite of heaven
a place of eternal torment
an eternal state of mind of being cut off from the possibility of god
sin
any thought that separates humans from god
original sin
the idea comes from adam and eves disobedience of god when they are the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil- forbidden
the result was separation from god and the introduction of death
salvation
repairs the damage caused by sin
types of salvation
doing good works - “in the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead”
through grace - “for it is by grace you have been saved”
role of jesus in salvation
his crucifixion made up for the original sin
necessary to restore the relationship between god and believers
“for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of god is eternal life in christ jesus our lord”
made it possible for all who follow his teachings to gain eternal life
atonement
removes the effects of sin
jesus atoned for the sins of humanity
“he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins”
